LDS: Is the name "Nephi" a derivative of "Nephilim"?

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As I was reading through Genesis (Chapter 6) the name “Nephilim” really stuck out in my mind. I really have no idea if these two terms are related, but it sure seems that they could be. Do any of you know the origin of the name “Nephi” ?

Thanks.
 
I’m not a LDS, but I would say no. “Nephilim” is a Hebrew plural; the singular (from which derivative words would be formed) is “niphal.”

As to the origin of the name “Nephi,” LDSs will deny this, but I believe it came from Joseph Smith’s imagination.

DaveBj
 
I’m not a LDS, but I would say no. “Nephilim” is a Hebrew plural; the singular (from which derivative words would be formed) is “niphal.”

As to the origin of the name “Nephi,” LDSs will deny this, but I believe it came from Joseph Smith’s imagination.

DaveBj
You are correct, LDS will not agree with you on the origin of the name Nephi.
I would say the origin of the name Nephi came when he was born and his father said…I think I will call him “Nephi”. 😉
 
I’m not a LDS, but I would say no. “Nephilim” is a Hebrew plural; the singular (from which derivative words would be formed) is “niphal.”

As to the origin of the name “Nephi,” LDSs will deny this, but I believe it came from Joseph Smith’s imagination.

DaveBj
I only wondered if Joseph Smith stumbled upon this and thought it sounded biblical and was not aware that the Nephilim were known for polygamy, as descendants of the line of Cain.
 
You are correct, LDS will not agree with you on the origin of the name Nephi.
I would say the origin of the name Nephi came when he was born and his father said…I think I will call him “Nephi”. 😉
Nice! 👍
 
As I was reading through Genesis (Chapter 6) the name “Nephilim” really stuck out in my mind. I really have no idea if these two terms are related, but it sure seems that they could be. Do any of you know the origin of the name “Nephi” ?

Thanks.
It’s used in the King James Version in the last verse of the first chapter of 2 Maccabees:
2 Maccabees 1:36: And Neemias called this thing Naphthar, which is as much as to say, a cleansing: but many men call it Nephi.
etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=Kjv2Mac.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1
 
I only wondered if Joseph Smith stumbled upon this and thought it sounded biblical and was not aware that the Nephilim were known for polygamy, as descendants of the line of Cain.
interesting. could it be Joseph really did have a visitation by spirits? who appeared as angels of light, and transmitted an ancient error? i only say this, because, the Jehovas witnesses, have the errors of the Nicolations, found in Revelation. and the Adventist, are of the same thread of the Judaizers, that were around early in the apostles ministry. could there truly have been false spirits transmitting “knowledge” during the 1800s, a century of religious confusion, where all three of these movements came about, and in the same area of the united states? just a theory. peace 🙂
 
interesting. could it be Joseph really did have a visitation by spirits? who appeared as angels of light, and transmitted an ancient error? i only say this, because, the Jehovas witnesses, have the errors of the Nicolations, found in Revelation. and the Adventist, are of the same thread of the Judaizers, that were around early in the apostles ministry. could there truly have been false spirits transmitting “knowledge” during the 1800s, a century of religious confusion, where all three of these movements came about, and in the same area of the united states? just a theory. peace 🙂
That is a feasible hypothesis. That is the danger of personal revelation…confirming that it came by the Holy Spirit or by one that deceives.
 
I checked it out in a very comprehensive Bible encyclopedia. It appears that Nephi is derived from the name Nephthai or Nephthar, but the bottom line is that no one knows what any of those meant in the original Hebrew.

DaveBj
 
That is interesting, but I doubt that Joseph owned a Catholic Bible that included that book.
But the Apocrypha were frequently included in the Protestant Bibles at that time. There was inconsistency among Protestants in making that change, led by Luther. Sidney Rigdon and Solomon Spalding almost certainly studied those books. The King James Version (Protestant by nature) originally included the Deuterocanonical books. It might do you good to read I and II Maccabees. 😉
 
Yes, it came from Joseph Smith’s imagination.
sourceflix.com/the-bible-vs-the-book-of-mormon/
I very definitely disagree with this statement.

Recent research has validated an old theory. This theory states that a preacher by the name of Solomon Spalding wrote a story about a migration of Jews to the New World. He read it to his friends and neighbors and family. Their testimonies included a character by the name of Nephi, as well as other events and characters which occurred in the BoM. He sent it to a printing office, but the printer, by the name of Lambdin, wanted money up-front, which Spalding did not have. Another man by the name of Sidney Rigdon stole the manuscript.

After spending time from 1816 (when Spalding died) to 1828 reviewing and revising it, Rigdon, through one of his friends, found a con-man who would be willing to help revise it and take credit for it, by the name of :rolleyes: Joseph Smith. Rigdon could not do this, because Spalding’s widow was hot on his tracks, suspecting that he was the person who had stolen the manuscript. He many have made a copy, and returned the original to Mrs Spalding.

Oliver Cowdery and Parley Pratt then probably relayed the manuscript between Rigdon’s house and JS’s house, where JS and his family and friends adapted it. One can see evidence of this in comparing the first half of the book with the second half. Martin Harris had taken the first 116 pages home and showed it to his wife. She got angry that he would be participating in such a blasphemy, and destroyed it. They then had to re-create the beginning of the book. Most of it was by memory, but Rigdon included huge chunks of Isaiah in II Nephi.

After the BoM was published, Rigdon appeared on the scene, and after minimal theatrical objection converted to the new religion, and quickly progressed in the organization.

When Spalding’s friends and relatives heard of the book, they raised an unholy stink, because they could recognize it.

If you will read Mosiah and Alma, much of the texture is very similar to I and II Maccabees, and many details came from Fr. Francesco Clavigero’s History of Mexico Spalding was very capable of integrating these multiple sources into a parody of the Bible (he was a private nonbeliever). He was very comfortable with writing military narrative, because he was a veteran of the Revolutionary war.

I come from the Nauvoo area. Many people with roots there had ancestors who had met JS. We have a strong tradition of laughing at the very idea that Joseph Smith was capable of writing the BoM. Two non-Mormon authors from that area, Arthur Deming and Thomas Gregg, wrote about this.

Now, there is an option that JS could have written the book with demonic assistance. Many Protestant groups subscribe to that idea. I don’t buy it.

Recent word-print studies (search Jockers, Criddle, and Witten) have found plenty of evidence that Rigdon and Spalding made significant contributions to the book.

So, in conclusion, Spalding borrowed many names from the Bible, including the Deuterocanonical books. And Nephi is one of them. If you won’t buy the Nephi in Maccabees, a shortened form of Nephilim (children of the gods) from Genesis will do quite well.
 
I very definitely disagree with this statement.

Recent research has validated an old theory. This theory states that a preacher by the name of Solomon Spalding wrote a story about a migration of Jews to the New World. He read it to his friends and neighbors and family. Their testimonies included a character by the name of Nephi, as well as other events and characters which occurred in the BoM. He sent it to a printing office, but the printer, by the name of Lambdin, wanted money up-front, which Spalding did not have. Another man by the name of Sidney Rigdon stole the manuscript.

After spending time from 1816 (when Spalding died) to 1828 reviewing and revising it, Rigdon, through one of his friends, found a con-man who would be willing to help revise it and take credit for it, by the name of :rolleyes: Joseph Smith. Rigdon could not do this, because Spalding’s widow was hot on his tracks, suspecting that he was the person who had stolen the manuscript. He many have made a copy, and returned the original to Mrs Spalding.

Oliver Cowdery and Parley Pratt then probably relayed the manuscript between Rigdon’s house and JS’s house, where JS and his family and friends adapted it. One can see evidence of this in comparing the first half of the book with the second half. Martin Harris had taken the first 116 pages home and showed it to his wife. She got angry that he would be participating in such a blasphemy, and destroyed it. They then had to re-create the beginning of the book. Most of it was by memory, but Rigdon included huge chunks of Isaiah in II Nephi.

After the BoM was published, Rigdon appeared on the scene, and after minimal theatrical objection converted to the new religion, and quickly progressed in the organization.

When Spalding’s friends and relatives heard of the book, they raised an unholy stink, because they could recognize it.

If you will read Mosiah and Alma, much of the texture is very similar to I and II Maccabees, and many details came from Fr. Francesco Clavigero’s History of Mexico Spalding was very capable of integrating these multiple sources into a parody of the Bible (he was a private nonbeliever). He was very comfortable with writing military narrative, because he was a veteran of the Revolutionary war.

I come from the Nauvoo area. Many people with roots there had ancestors who had met JS. We have a strong tradition of laughing at the very idea that Joseph Smith was capable of writing the BoM. Two non-Mormon authors from that area, Arthur Deming and Thomas Gregg, wrote about this.

Now, there is an option that JS could have written the book with demonic assistance. Many Protestant groups subscribe to that idea. I don’t buy it.

Recent word-print studies (search Jockers, Criddle, and Witten) have found plenty of evidence that Rigdon and Spalding made significant contributions to the book.

So, in conclusion, Spalding borrowed many names from the Bible, including the Deuterocanonical books. And Nephi is one of them. If you won’t buy the Nephi in Maccabees, a shortened form of Nephilim (children of the gods) from Genesis will do quite well.
This is a wonderful story, but it is false. It has been refuted. I understand that the imaginations of our detractors have been working overtime to discredit the Book of Mormon since before it was published, but it does them no good to fabricate stories.
fairlds.org/Book_of_Mormon/Solomon_Spaulding_and_the_Book_of_Mormon.html
 
This is a wonderful story, but it is false. It has been refuted. I understand that the imaginations of our detractors have been working overtime to discredit the Book of Mormon since before it was published, but it does them no good to fabricate stories.
fairlds.org/Book_of_Mormon/Solomon_Spaulding_and_the_Book_of_Mormon.html
yes my friend. but is this not a LDS refutation? could you provide perhaps, a non LDS refutation? from what i understand, this is not a false refutation against the BOM. the BOM has some good lessons. but as with the book of Job, i cannot believe it as a historical document. the book of Job itself was quite possibly a Jewish fable. the Book of Mormon, an American fable. and it has done alot of good, for alot of people. yourself included i would think. i would not take that away from you. but i do look critically at any book the author claims to be the word of God. including the Bible. that is fair, isnt it? Peace and prayers for you, and i hope you had a wonderful Christmas. 🙂
 
one thing i will write in defense of the BOM. it is a very difficult book to understand. i personally get more out of it, when someone like flyonthewall, or ParkerD take a passage and explain it. then i have an easier time understanding, and taking things away from this book that can benefit me. like i said. it does have some good lessons. i would not read it, just to disprove it. i find good, in the writings of the Jewish sages and the zohar also. the only thing i believe unquestioningly, are the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church. Peace 🙂
 
it does have some good lessons. i would not read it, just to disprove it. i find good, in the writings of the Jewish sages and the zohar also.
Agreed. There are good lessons in the BoM. However, it seems that LDS people are blind to many.
 
I understand that the imaginations of our detractors have been working overtime to discredit the Book of Mormon since before it was published, but it does them no good to fabricate stories.
There is a Mormon trend to fabricate stories. There is a trend among critics of Mormonism to satirically fabricate stories. Tit for tat, and all that. However, because Mormons tend to be literal thinkers, perhaps this is underhanded. After all, that tendency comes from an imitation of Sidney Rigdon’s psychopathology. Even Alexander Campbell made that observation, and he knew him well.
 
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